Re: Caffeine or Natural Stimulants for Impulsivity?

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: Melody Latimer

> So I've been looking around and have found caffeine, ginkgo biloba and

> Omega-3 all listed as natural stimulants.

Omega-3 is a stimulant? I didn't know that. I don't think it's a good idea

to give a five-year-old caffeine.

> Caffeine I know to be the most helpful, but finding a form he will

> actually take it in will be difficult.

It shouldn't be hard. All kids love soda. I wouldn't let him have a whole

can, though.

D.

[Guest guest]

Yeah. Omega-3 was surprising to me. I'm actually not too worried about

the effects of caffeine. The problem is he is SUPER SENSORY BOY. He

won't drink soda because of the carbonation, chocolate because of the

'messy' factor, coffee or tea because of the flavor. Yeah. I have the

one child that needs caffeine but refuses anything it's in for OTHER

reasons.

Melody

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Melody Latimer

>

> > So I've been looking around and have found caffeine, ginkgo biloba and

> > Omega-3 all listed as natural stimulants.

>

> Omega-3 is a stimulant? I didn't know that. I don't think it's a good

> idea

> to give a five-year-old caffeine.

>

> > Caffeine I know to be the most helpful, but finding a form he will

> > actually take it in will be difficult.

>

> It shouldn't be hard. All kids love soda. I wouldn't let him have a whole

> can, though.

>

> D.

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Yeah. Omega-3 was surprising to me. I'm actually not too worried about

> the effects of caffeine. The problem is he is SUPER SENSORY BOY. He

> won't drink soda because of the carbonation, chocolate because of the

> 'messy' factor, coffee or tea because of the flavor. Yeah. I have the

> one child that needs caffeine but refuses anything it's in for OTHER

> reasons.

Seems to me a super-sensory boy in a class of 16 probably needs

sensory relief more than medication.

Jane

[Guest guest]

Don't worry, he's getting plenty of those. We do lots of deep pressure,

big hugs, all sort of crashing games and what not. It still doesn't make

him any less impulsive. He most likely has ADHD as well as his Autism.

He's very hyperactive and the best sensory diet just doesn't help him

get rid of his excess energy and impulse control issues.

Melody

>

>

>

>

> > Yeah. Omega-3 was surprising to me. I'm actually not too worried about

> > the effects of caffeine. The problem is he is SUPER SENSORY BOY. He

> > won't drink soda because of the carbonation, chocolate because of the

> > 'messy' factor, coffee or tea because of the flavor. Yeah. I have the

> > one child that needs caffeine but refuses anything it's in for OTHER

> > reasons.

>

> Seems to me a super-sensory boy in a class of 16 probably needs

> sensory relief more than medication.

>

> Jane

>

>

[Guest guest]

> We've put in a reward system (he gets tickets for good actions

> and they are removed for bad actions.

>

> So I've been looking around and have found caffeine, ginkgo

> biloba and Omega-3 all listed as natural stimulants. But

> I have no experience with any of them. Omega-3/fish oil

> seems like the easiest to try, but I'm not sure how effective

> it would be. Caffeine I know to be the most helpful,

> but finding a form he will actually take it in will be difficult.

It is entirely possible that the child will not respond well to a

ticket system of reward and punishment. For that matter, if coupons

or bonuses are involved, I'll look to see if there is a competitor

that doesn't use bonuses.

The fact that a child does not respond to a particular ticket system

is not (IMO) justification for drugging the child. Caffeine may be

a useful alternative for prescription drugs, but at 5 years old, any

substance used for behaviour control is way over the edge.

Omega-3 or for that matter any vitamins given in accepted safe

dosages can't hurt. There are also artificial colors and flavors

including one of the red coloring that cause restlessness which can

easily be removed from the diet (if they are present).

Meantime, if a 5 year old is impulsive, then I guess he isn't an

adult, and it may require another 10 or 15 years for him to grow up.

- s0

[Guest guest]

What about iced tea? That tastes different than hot tea.

> >

> >

> > ----- Original Message -----

> > From: Melody Latimer

> >

> > > So I've been looking around and have found caffeine, ginkgo biloba and

> > > Omega-3 all listed as natural stimulants.

> >

> > Omega-3 is a stimulant? I didn't know that. I don't think it's a good

> > idea

> > to give a five-year-old caffeine.

> >

> > > Caffeine I know to be the most helpful, but finding a form he will

> > > actually take it in will be difficult.

> >

> > It shouldn't be hard. All kids love soda. I wouldn't let him have a whole

> > can, though.

> >

> > D.

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> There are also artificial colors and flavors

> including one of the red coloring that cause restlessness which can

> easily be removed from the diet (if they are present).

>

We found that cutting out artificial colours and flavours made a dramatic

difference. Anatto (E160b) was one of the worst. If something containing anatto

slipped through the results showed within 20 minutes and lasted up to 3 days.

We had a particularly bad couple of weeks just after one of them started at the

nursery. It turned out that the paediatric antibiotic he had been prescribed for

an ear infection contained anatto! Once he was changed to one without anatto he

was fine.

With the 2nd hyperactive child we thought we knew all the things to avoid, but

the first two years were still extremely challenging - till we went on holiday

in a remote spot and ran out of natural orange juice and strawberry jam. Three

days later the 2 year old terrified me by sleeping through the night for the

first time in his life!

Apparently oranges and strawberries (and, to a lesser extent, apples) contain

natural salicylates, which can also affect some children.

Not just children actually - the first hyperactive child was 15 by the time we

found out about the oranges and he informed us that his rowing team friends

delighted in giving him orange juice and then laugh at the effect it had on him.

We found coke helped a great deal with the second hyper one (though we didn't

know why at the time). He's still using it (and still can't stand the taste of

coffee). It may be worth trying your youngster with some flat coke.

[Guest guest]

My mom tried the Feingold diet on me when I was a child, which is eliminating

all preservatives & artificial coloring/flavoring from me. Unfortunately, while

it was a physically healthy diet, it did nothing for me or my problems.

>

> > There are also artificial colors and flavors

> > including one of the red coloring that cause restlessness which can

> > easily be removed from the diet (if they are present).

> >

>

> We found that cutting out artificial colours and flavours made a dramatic

difference. Anatto (E160b) was one of the worst. If something containing anatto

slipped through the results showed within 20 minutes and lasted up to 3 days.

> We had a particularly bad couple of weeks just after one of them started at

the nursery. It turned out that the paediatric antibiotic he had been prescribed

for an ear infection contained anatto! Once he was changed to one without anatto

he was fine.

>

> With the 2nd hyperactive child we thought we knew all the things to avoid, but

the first two years were still extremely challenging - till we went on holiday

in a remote spot and ran out of natural orange juice and strawberry jam. Three

days later the 2 year old terrified me by sleeping through the night for the

first time in his life!

>

> Apparently oranges and strawberries (and, to a lesser extent, apples) contain

natural salicylates, which can also affect some children.

>

> Not just children actually - the first hyperactive child was 15 by the time we

found out about the oranges and he informed us that his rowing team friends

delighted in giving him orange juice and then laugh at the effect it had on him.

>

> We found coke helped a great deal with the second hyper one (though we didn't

know why at the time). He's still using it (and still can't stand the taste of

coffee). It may be worth trying your youngster with some flat coke.

>

[Guest guest]

>

> My mom tried the Feingold diet on me when I was a child, which is eliminating

all preservatives & artificial coloring/flavoring from me. Unfortunately, while

it was a physically healthy diet, it did nothing for me or my problems.

>

Did you eat oranges or strawberries or drink natural orange juice?

We found they were pretty awful. Child #5 actually stopped bouncing off the

walls when we cut them out.

[Guest guest]

I did not drink orange juice (it's not bad) 'til I was 12, & the diet happened

when I was like 10-11. I did not have strawberries 'til I was like 30ish & I

realized what I was missing! I love strawberries!

> >

> > My mom tried the Feingold diet on me when I was a child, which is

eliminating all preservatives & artificial coloring/flavoring from me.

Unfortunately, while it was a physically healthy diet, it did nothing for me or

my problems.

> >

>

> Did you eat oranges or strawberries or drink natural orange juice?

> We found they were pretty awful. Child #5 actually stopped bouncing off the

walls when we cut them out.

>

[Guest guest]

Wanted to follow up with what has occurred this week. I thank everyone for

their advice and we have definitely been working to put in some of it.

First, we decided to go back to Melatonin for him at night. I know that was

not necessarily recommended, but felt having a full night's rest may help.

It has helped immensely in the morning. In the evening, he is definitely

winding down without the cranky feelings he had been.

Second, we have asked for an emergency IEP meeting. After the school tried

to convince us against it, and also tried to circumvent by making an

informal meeting, we finally got a date next week to pursue action from the

school's end. Only problem is that a week following that meeting is the last

day of school. However, I already see them trying to say it's our fault that

he's having these behaviors AND that it's not affecting his education. They

have no grounds on either of those.

Third, we have not put him on caffeine yet. The ticket system is finally

helping him sway his choices. I'm sure some of it is being well rested. I

think they are also giving him extra attention at the school. So all of it

together, now he's only being aggressive when there is an obvious stimuli.

Usually when his brother screams at him to stop, and I find that to be

understandable. He's still impulsive as ever, but he's not being aggressive,

so I'm fine with the impulses.

The school meeting, I'm going to ask them to keep attention on him during

unstructured times when he seems to be picking up the behaviors. The

elementary school he'll be going to in the fall has been made aware of the

issues. And I'm going to get them to include ADHD as a secondary diagnosis

for school so that he is not punished for impulses (unless they are

physically aggressive).

Again, thanks for everyone who gave their advice.

Melody

On Sun, May 16, 2010 at 6:56 PM, Melody Latimer wrote:

> Hi everyone,

>

> I'm asking this for my son and not myself. I don't want to turn to

> medication for him unless it's a last choice. He's been having some

> increases in aggressive impulsivity in the past few months. The thing that

> has changed is his classroom size at school. He's 5 yrs old and there are

> about 16 kids in his preschool class. Problem is that there are some that

> are aggressive. He is finally picking up on those actions.

>

> Previous to this, his impulses were not aggressive so I saw no need

> intervene where I thought maturity would sooner or later kick in. Now

> though, since they are aggressive, we need to do something to help him

> along. We've put in a reward system (he gets tickets for good actions and

> they are removed for bad actions. He then gets to spend those tickets on

> fun things, like playing the Wii, PS3, bowling, mini golf, and what not.).

> It's somewhat working, but it's become clear that it's not going to stop the

> majority of the aggression as it's not that he doesn't know the rules, just

> he can't control it.

>

> So I've been looking around and have found caffeine, ginkgo biloba and

> Omega-3 all listed as natural stimulants. But I have no experience with any

> of them. Omega-3/fish oil seems like the easiest to try, but I'm not sure

> how effective it would be. Caffeine I know to be the most helpful, but

> finding a form he will actually take it in will be difficult.

>

> Thanks for any advice.

>

> Melody

>

[Guest guest]

Holy CRAP! *I* took stupid Ritalin as a child!

----- Original Message -----

> From: Melody Latimer

>

> Did you know that some research even

> suggests having Ritalin as a child can CAUSE depression and anxiety in

> adults with ADHD? Or that they are not meant to be used long term?

>

> **The make-up of Ritalin is very close to the make-up of cocaine. Older

> kids

> have been known to grind up the pills and snort them like powder cocaine,

> so

> they are being abused by some.

>

> D.

[Guest guest]

& yet these psych meds do not help me & I don't resort to smoking nor drugging,

but mental health workers frown upon the fact that I am not willing to give meds

a try although I was on several different ones.

>

> I'm curious as to why he stopped taking them.

>

> **He became sexually active and said he has a better erection, altho I

> told him there are other legal drugs he can try. He resorted to smoking

> to relax himself and I suspect he smokes weed at least sometimes, or

> mixes it in with his homemade cigs. That saddens me, too, because just

> 4 years ago we watched my mother wither away into nothing and die of

> lung cancer. =[ ***

>

> I understand about not wanting to live life under medication though.

> The last time I stopped taking my meds was three years ago, and within

> three weeks I was such an agonised and suicidal mess that I had to

> give in and go back on them.

>

> **Oh my! Glad you realized what was going on before something happened!**

>